ATHENS, Ga. - The closer it gets to football season, the further Lorenzo Carter moves from his subpar sophomore year.
Carter arrived at Georgia in 2014 as a Parade and USA Today All-American and immediately showed promise, starting five games and racking up 41 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. The 6-foot-6, 242-pounder from the Atlanta suburb of Norcross capped his first season with eight tackles and a sack in the 37-14 drubbing of Louisville in the Belk Bowl.
Last year began with Carter receiving all-star attention, but it ended with him in relative anonymity, as he collected 19 tackles and no lost-yardage stops.
"We have great players here all over the place, guys like Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins, and you just have to wait your turn," Carter said. "Last year was just a little bit of everything. You have to be ready to play. Your body has to mature. You have to understand the plays, and I just think I'm more ready now."
Carter had two very different years under the tandem of head coach Mark Richt and defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, but he is now under the guidance of Kirby Smart and Mel Tucker. Smart had the dual roles of Georgia head coach and Alabama defensive coordinator for several weeks until beginning full time with the Bulldogs in mid-January, but he was hearing a lot about Carter long before Georgia suited up for spring practice.
The pass-rushing prowess had been on display in a 2014 game at Kentucky, when Carter had nine tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in earning Southeastern Conference defensive lineman of the week honors, but he was not without concerns.
"A lot of people told me when I got here that he wasn't physically tough, so now we are trying to challenge him," Smart said midway through spring drills. "I think he is a guy who you have to push and challenge constantly."
Smart praised Carter near the end of spring practice for being disruptive, and Carter believes he will be noticeably improved this season against the run. The Bulldogs allowed 149.5 rushing yards a game a year ago, their best average since ranking 11th nationally in 2011, when they yielded just 101.2 a game.
Floyd, a first-round pick of the Chicago Bears, and Jenkins, a third-round choice of the New York Jets, had a lot to do with last year's success, as did Davin Bellamy, who emerged with 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks as a redshirt sophomore. Carter insists he's ready to factor into Georgia's run defense in his third go-around.
"That seems to be all we work on now - the point of attack and playing the run," Carter said. "Pass-rushing comes the easiest, but you have to really work on becoming more physical."
Bellamy and Carter could be among the leaders on a defense that has a veteran safety tandem with Quincy Mauger and Dominick Sanders but has more youth and inexperience up front compared to a year ago. Being picked by Smart as one of the players to speak after the G-Day game is at least a little evidence Carter took strides this spring, and Carter believes the change in command will benefit not just him but the program overall.
"There is a different energy and an electric atmosphere around here all the time," he said. "Coach Smart makes sure he keeps it that way, because he wants us to be energetic and to love the game. We're going to be a defense this year that is going to stop the run, and if you stop the run, then you can win the game."
Bulldogs land Beal
Georgia picked up the first five-star commitment for its 2017 signing class Tuesday, receiving a nonbinding pledge from Robert Beal of the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The 6-4, 230-pound Beal is the nation's No. 2 weakside defensive end and No. 30 overall prospect according to 247Sports.com.
The commitment of Beal catapulted Georgia from sixth to third nationally in 247Sports' team rankings, trailing only Ohio State and Alabama.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.